Leave You Wanting
by Frooty-Looop
Summary: Jerome knows what he wants and what he's always wanted...and it's time Mara came face to face with what she's pretending she doesn't. It's time they both get the answers to their questions. A MAROME oneshot, please read and review.


**Hey guys! I am overwhelmed by everyone who favourited and reviewed the last few stories I posted ('Why Cat's Fairy tales are Better,' 'Thursday Movie Nights With Cat and Robbie' and 'On a Stormy Thursday Movie Night'). Thank you all soo much! You don't know how much that motivated my writing. I'm sorry I haven't replied to some reviews and haven't posted anything else up until now, I've had uni exams and assignments to finish so I had to put my writing on hold. But I am back with this one-shot I wrote about Mara and Jerome from House of Anubis on Nickelodeon. As usual I do not own any of the characters from the show; they are all the property of ****Hans Bourlon & Gert Verhulst & Nickelodeon. Please read and review so I know how you all like it. I might write more "Marome" based on how well this is received. Thank you guys soo much once again. You make me smile = )**

**Leave You Wanting**

Sneaking out after a long night of preparing the room for Trudy's surprise birthday party, Mara silently congratulates herself on almost making it to her room in time without getting caught.

She almost jumps when she hears his voice speak from the shadows of the lockers. "Oh my, I didn't realize good girls crept around in the dark late at night…"

Jumping awkwardly around, she is surprised at how she managed not to scream.

"Don't do that again! You scared the hell out of me…" she says in a hiss. His infuriating smirk only causes her scowl to deepen.

Jerome steps out of the shadows, his piercing blue eyes being the first thing she sees when he does. She's always found that strange, how the first thing she's always noted about Jerome is his eyes.

Whenever he'd walk into the room, the first thing she'd look at would be the blue orbs on his face to see what emotion they held then. He'd scoff at the idea, and so would anyone else in the house, but Mara can nearly always read his eyes. She can tell exactly when he'd go from being jovial, amusing Jerome to sad, reminiscing Jerome even when everyone else thought it was all the same. Mara hates admitting it, but she could even tell when his eyes went from holding their usual scorn to the burning jealousy when he sees Mick.

She usually tries to convince herself that these weren't seriously damaging expressions to see in a friend's eyes. She's been discomforted by the envious look in his eyes when he'd see Mick but it wasn't as though Jerome had actually ever told her he hated Mick.

But then there would be those times when Mara and Jerome would be standing very close to each other (usually when everyone would be crowded in the kitchen or common room during a rushed breakfast hour or during one of Amber's karaoke nights) and she'd turn to see his eyes shift from the icy blue to a colour she could only describe as a raging darkened storm.

And at those times, with those eyes boring something so deep into her that she can't even look away, she finds herself willing to be stuck in a raging storm-If only she could have that indescribable feeling he gives her while she's there. Sometimes she feels slightly disgusted at herself for wanting thrills and danger when she has a loving boyfriend who already gives her more than she deserves.

But other times she can't help but wonder what it would be like to break the moulds of sweetness and goodness she's been stuck in for her whole life. She wonders what it would feel like to feel someone else's pain so closely…so that when she can take it away, it feels like she can feel its relief herself.

She really wonders sometimes how it would feel to be something so good mixed into something so bad…that it would inevitably leave some mark on each other – a scar, a stain or some beautiful hue only visible on them and no one else. Sometimes she can't fathom how someone who's felt themselves to be so rotten after years of neglect and abandonment can light a room with their smile just because she's spent a few priceless hours laughing and smiling with them.

How could she leave a positive mark on such a tortured soul? And what about herself? What kind of mark would a tortured soul leave on her? Would she learn to become a deeper person herself? Or would his darkness infect her somehow, darkening both their lives until she couldn't help him or herself anymore? Sometimes it really feels like she would want some pain…maybe some of his pain, if it meant he didn't have to inflict himself with so much poison.

But these thoughts are taboo for her. She is a rational girl, one who doesn't play with fire when she knows it would lead to her getting burnt. And as much as these questions plague her mind subconsciously, she never dares to bring them up in clear words or conversations. Whatever her mind leads her to imagine or question when it came to a certain set of piercing blue eyes and the smooth cold face they belong to, she knows it has to stay there locked within the forbidden vaults of her deeper mind.

To put it simply, Mara knows how her life is organised; everything easily categorised like her feelings for Mick, her academics, her career goals are all grouped in a file in her mind labelled 'safe.' And everything she can't categorise without feeling conflicted, upset or helpless such as her parents, Jerome, her non-career or non-academic goals (which are just non-academic because she doesn't know what they are herself) in life are all grouped in a file labelled 'hazardous.'

And she never attempts to re-sort her 'safe' and 'hazardous' files seeing as how the last time she'd attempted to do that, she'd been an utter emotional, mental and physical mess. When she keeps them separate, her life runs smoothly, albeit predictably…

At this current moment however, Mara's lie slips slightly as she steels her gaze away from Jerome's eyes and swallows quickly. She can tell his eyes have already registered the small movement because they flicker ever so quickly to her neck and back when she does.

He smirks at her and her defences shoot up instantly. "Up to no good are we? What are you doing sneaking around this late?" he asks in his silky, uncaring tone. Heck, most of the time Jerome's tone sounds mocking, as though he's getting ready to dig into the other person's insecurities for supper.

She rolls her eyes and folds her arms over her nightgown (it is quite cold and her white cotton night dress only reaches her knees). "Nothing…and who cares about me, why are **you** out and about this late?" she asks back, because the only way to fend off Jerome for even a little while is to counter his question with a question.

He rolls his eyes this time and grins. "Nothing? Well that's a pathetic answer…" his expression changes suddenly following a quick look of realization. "Don't tell me you were sneaking out to see Thick – I mean Mick…" she doesn't have to read his eyes to see the distaste written all over his face.

She frowns at his slip of his preferred nickname for Mick and huffily replies, "No I was not although even if I was it would be none of your business."

He seems to like that she hasn't been sneaking out to see Mick, and gives a satisfied, "Good…"

She only glares at him and he rolls his eyes before replying, "Well I suppose you wouldn't be all huffy about me minding my own business when I'd be the one getting you out of trouble if you had been caught sneaking out to see your boyfriend." She doesn't miss the way he sneers at the word 'boyfriend.'

Mara starts to get really antsy when he starts on Mick. She wishes he wouldn't so that she can pretend she and Mick are meant for each other, and there's no other feeling that could compete with Mick's devotion to her.

"I wouldn't rely on you as it was Jerome, because Mick would help me out if I was in any trouble and I don't need anyone else." She snaps finally and she feels bad instantly, seeing the slightest flicker of hurt cross Jerome's mask. But Jerome is the master of concealment; he deflects feelings as much as Mara tries not to ponder on them.

"Oh it wouldn't be out of the guilt that when you get in trouble, it's usually because of him anyway would it?" She tries not to feel hurt by his words, or the way his eyes betray the slightly sadistic side of him that likes seeing his opponents get spurned. Mara wants to reach over to him and remind him, she is his friend and that he doesn't need to see her as an opponent of anything…but then she stops herself.

Why should she always be explaining herself to him? Why can't he just accept that she is his friend, and that friends should be happy for one another when they have a partner who loves them as much as Mick loves her? Her frustration heightens as she wonders why Jerome needs to oppose everything around him and why she needs to always cajole him into talking about the deeper things.

If he could say half the things she thinks he wants to sometimes, her mind could clear up within seconds…but instead he plays stupid games with his words and leaves her even more puzzled than before. No, this time she would not be the one begging to crack open the hard layers of Jerome's maze like mind. She would not be the one giving his fiery insults further air by giving him her attention.

Mara turns around suddenly and decides to leave, her feet moving quickly down the empty hallway. She hears him run up next to her quickly.

"Where are you going?" he whispers loudly while he catches up to her. She doesn't answer for a while as she walks a little faster (the damn hallway has never seemed so long before and neither have her legs felt so short) and it's only until he calls her name again sharply that she turns abruptly to a halt in front of him.

He stumbles into her when his feet skid to a stop and he steadies himself off her with a quick "Sorry" and the faint tinge of a blush on his pale cheeks. She herself, tries hard not to blush because of how close they were (which in itself is strange when she puts her mind to it because she once had to clean his shoes and was asked to give him a foot massage and she'd never blushed then).

But she clears her throat and swiftly replies, "Jerome, I'm tired of your moodiness and the way you use your words to hurt me…I'm not going to spend another minute this late at night, in this cold, listening to your bullshit. I don't know why you're so sulky around Mick and frankly I don't care because if I am your friend, you should be happy in the happiness Mick gives me."

She gives the spot above his head a haughty glare and then turns on her feet to leave again, but a hand grabs onto hers and yanks her back. The only reason she doesn't scream is because she recognises the warmth of the hand in question. And to be honest, her skin seems to feel all too comfortable with the contact.

Her cool brown eyes stare into a pair of dark, raging blue ones and any plans she had of keeping herself calm and determined evaporate into the cold air around them. Jerome's eyes have changed again, to a colour deeper than she would've liked and much more intense than she's ever seen before. Although she feels paralysed by the hypnotic power exuding from his eyes, she lets hers fall to the ground to study the ugly green tiles. But Jerome's growling snarl cuts through too clearly to look anywhere but at him.

"No, no. You don't get to go off at me like that and then look the other way when I'm ready to fight back…that's not how it works." Words dry up in her mouth but a moment later she realizes she isn't expected to say anything at all right now. No, this time she will listen and Jerome will talk no matter if she likes what he says or not.

She's surprised to feel his hand tighten around her arm more and his tug to pull her in closer. It's not enough to hurt, but it's strong enough to make her eyes widen when she realizes she can smell that cologne he wears.

He sneers down at her and continues, "Don't fucking tell me that you don't know why I'm so sulky about your idiotic boyfriend Mara…you know exactly why I don't like him. You know exactly why every time I see him touch you, I want to pack in every moment of hurt and anger I've felt in my life and deliver it all in one single blow to that supposedly handsome face of his so he knows how much stronger my feelings are." Mara attempts to recoil at the ice in his tone but he only pulls her closer so that she can see the flecks of yellow streaking through his blue whirlpools.

She doesn't know if she hates him right now or if the pain in her chest is stemming from the ideas in the hazardous files of her mind.

"You think my words hurt? You think that when I insult that idiot, it's painful do you? Well maybe you should stop for a bit and think about how much more your **actions** hurt Mara. Words can be forgotten, the words I utter can be changed with every person who repeats it, with each time I utter it…but the things I have to see with these eyes can't be forgotten so easily**. I have to see **that oaf hold you like he thinks he's holding a stuffed bear, when really he doesn't realize how delicate what he's holding is.** I** have to **see him** kiss you and quench those surges of rage I feel, because those lips are what I dream of every night.** I** have to **watch you smile at him** like he's some sort of self-appointed Greek god whenever he walks into the room…**and I have to lie in bed at night and wonder why I am never good enough for you!**"

His last sentence lingers in the air and she stares at him in shock. No-one has ever said something so riveting about her before. She's always been so ordinary… she's never come face to face with anything as passionate as what she's just seen. But it feels surreal, to finally hear the secret Jerome's been hiding for so long, it feels as though everything is out in the open and now she has no excuse to hide from it…she can't ignore it anymore.

Like montages in a film, Mara's mind is bombarded with every memory within her mind of Jerome's warmest smiles – smiles that she hadn't realized up until now; he'd only given her and at the most, Alfie. Clips of all the times they'd spent laughing over things she wouldn't have even found funny with anyone else, paste themselves to her eyes and the sound of his honeyed voice cheering her up echo in her ears. When the images of all the times he's looked at her with so much softness and longing stand out in her mind, she's shocked at how she's never stumbled across them before and the feeling makes her eyes prick with sadness.

She can't look away and instead she finds herself glancing at his thin pink lips. Her heart lurches when she sees them trembling…as though they're shuddering from the weight of all they've let out. Mara is suddenly hit with the realization that she's staring at the only sign coming from Jerome that he's terrified. He's laid it all out in front of her and he's quivering with the fear of rejection he's been hiding from ever since he's felt the way he does about her.

When she dares to look up at his eyes though, they remain as fiery as ever…until she holds his stare. She watches his eyes subtly read her thoughts and then after a few seconds, he blinks once.

Her heart races and suddenly she finds her hand reaching up to his face. He doesn't look at her hand; he's still staring at her eyes, holding them without break as though she's a moment, about to fade away. His words about not being good enough for her repeat in her mind and when her small hand touches his flushing warm skin, she sees him close his eyes in relief.

It seems they've both forgotten how close they've already gotten, because when she moves a step closer, she's pressed against him so she doesn't feel cold anymore. His arms, wind around her but his eyes are still closed, and she's overcome with the need to comfort him…to tell him she's still there, and will always be there for him.

Her breath rustles against his now still lips before Jerome opens his eyes very gently. A moment passes between them both, so many fears, needs and desires all stirred into one. And then his lips meet hers with an electric surge. She's kissed Mick plenty of times but they don't even register in her mind as Jerome's lips envelope hers - It feels like she's being kissed for the first time.

Mara reaches her hands over the back of his neck, stroking it absentmindedly. The warm skin makes her heart thud louder and yet makes her lean into him with a sigh. Jerome deepens the kiss, his urgency of wanting her more than ever now infecting her too. Her hands have roamed down to his back and she squeezes him tightly to show him how mutual this want - this need has become.

Jerome pushes Mara back into one of the lockers gently and lets his tongue welcome hers as his hands wander over her small waist and her hips. To say this is a dream coming true is an understatement for Jerome…it feels a hundred times better than any of his dreams.

He pauses to take a look at the only girl who's given him so much hope, despair and desperation in his life. Momentarily his conscience tells him to stop this, that he's kissing someone else's girlfriend and asks him if he really wants to be the jackass everyone thinks he is by doing this. However the sight of her staring back at him dreamily from under her eyelids with her body heaving after their heated snogging makes his blood pulse through his veins even faster.

Her gentle smile and the softer, "Jerome?" she tentatively whispers drives any coherent thought out of his mind. All he can see is her…and if she's all that he wants, she must be all that he needs he gathers. Moving back to her lips, he hungrily pulls her close. When he dips his head down to her soft neck, she gasps quietly at the touch and he sets upon her, his lips leaving peppered kisses along her collarbone hurriedly.

The noises that she makes only make his kisses needier, until he finally has no more possible new actions to describe how much needed her or how much he's felt for her. He hears her whisper his name in his ear lovingly and then he can't constrain himself. Moving his lips to her ear, he holds her close and whispers, "I love you…I love you so much Mara."

He hears her whisper back, "I love you too Jerome…" but then hears a heavy pause. Glancing at her face, the fear returns to him. Mara's eyes are locked on something with sadness seeping through them. He follows her gaze to the trophy case on the opposite wall. He hadn't realized they'd walked down this end of the hallway. When he zones into what she's looking at, he finds it's a photo of Mick winning some trophy in some athletics carnival in the school a couple of years back.

To say he feels giant pangs of jealousy is an understatement…he's never felt as wise and as bitter as he does now. He knows he loves her…and now that he's found out she loves him too (even if she never admits it again, he** knows** it now that she's uttered it at such a tender and private moment) the feeling of loss when she'll walk into the arms of someone else is one he knows is going to drive him insane. Chucking a tantrum won't achieve anything but more sorrow and he's been raised to get what he can and still want more than everyone else…he needs to work on that, for her sake if not his.

Mara glances back at Jerome, her eyes filled with sadness he'd been accustomed to seeing in his reflection for so many years and he knows she's not going to kiss him again while the fact that she is someone else's girlfriend still exists. And he's not going to try again tonight either…even though he's not going to stop wanting to. She doesn't need to say anything, although she's opening and closing her mouth trying to. When he gives her a pained but understanding smile, she looks like she's about to cry.

He's not going to kiss her, but he presses his forehead against hers in reassurance. She breathes his scent in, feeling something click within her. This is where she wants to be, where she needs to be. If she could wake up with this scent around her every morning, if she could fall asleep in its comfort, she would finally feel like she can tackle everything she's pushed away in her mind. She can finally feel like someone reaching places within her she didn't know she could. But only if he was there with her…only if she had his warm smile to return to every time she did.

She strokes his face with her small hands one last time and says softly, "I will fix this…I will be yours…"

He only pulls her into another strong hug, one that sends a smile right to her face and then lets go. "Yes you will…"

Jerome can see the smirk take over her as his confidence shines through his voice and he smirks back. She knows him so well…it's perfect really. He watches as she walks past him finally, her walk completely different to the timid one he saw her in when he approached her first. It makes him proud of her- that is the real Mara he knows.

When she disappears around a corner, he promises to no one really but the air around him, "I'll never stop wanting you Mara."

Grinning, he sets off on his way back to his room, whistling quietly as he does.

He's almost hoping he'll get caught by Victor…he does feel rather lucky tonight.

**THE END**

**So there it was guys. Hope you all liked it and that you review this as well after you've finished reading it. I love hearing from you guys. Thanks for all the support so far.**


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